Quangos

[Gladys]

Isn't that a quark (of Quatermass fame)?

[Chinahand]

What ever the arguments over what it actually is, surely the question is MNH value for money.

 

I don't know any details about MNH taking DOLGE to Court, but in an even more bizare situation the Health and Safety Executive, a DOLGE sub-department, took DOLGE to court recently. Erm what should I do today ... I know I'll sue myself.

 

Could thousands of pounds and months of time have been saved with proper communication and dialogue? Are inter-department turf wars so important that court is the only solution ... sounds like an awful waste to me ... sounds very like the way the Manx Government works.

[VinnieK]

Was the DoLGE and Health and Safety executive thing a proper turf war?

 

I think there is a reasonable basis for court cases between agencies/departments/etc. within the government, even if the motivations of the parties are less than honourable in certain cases. After all, a contest between two governmental departments can only get to the courts if both have at least a reasonable claim to having some jurisdiction over what's been fought over. A court case can be beneficial in so much that it establishes a firm precedent which defines the relevant bodies' roles and mandates more precisely. A resolution based on communication and dialogue could all too easily be seen as some kind of 'fudge' that does nothing to help avert the possibility of future disagreement and legal wrangling.

 

If there's a higher incidence of interdepartmental conflict in the Manx government (that is, between bodies that are ultimately the responsibility of individual elected officials) than elsewhere, it's possible that this is a result of the fact that party politics play little role in our political system. On balance, if this is indeed the case, I'd probably prefer the occassional costly scrap between government bodies than harmony resulting from partisan politics and discipline (which in my view does more damage to the letter of democracy than court cases and quangos ever could).

[Gladys]

Something from the dim and distant past is stirring in my head on this and that is in the UK I don't think one department of state can sue another department of state. The reason being that, constitutionally, there is only one Secretary of State, it may be divided into several offices, but it is only one legal entity. But separate creations of departments can sue departments (agencies, NGOs, executive bodies etc) and be sued as they have a separate existence, although they may be funded and appointed by a department.

 

That the H&SE should be able to fine, say, the DOT for the unsafe operation of buses is quite right and proper.

 

Also as Vinnie says, bits of Government suing other bits of Government may not necessarily be a bad thing, the real intention may be to get a judicial ruling on an unclear area of law or to stop a department acting ultra vires rather than just seeking compensation.

 

No person, Government department or agency should be above the law and in some instances it may be that another arm of Government is the only body able to take the necessary legal action.